Raqa

Jordan's military Dec. 26 denied claims by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to have shot down one of its warplanes which crashed in Syria, after the pilot was captured by the jihadists.
      

At least 31 Islamic State militants were killed in Syrian air force raids Sunday in the northern province of Raqa, a stronghold of the jihadist fighters, a monitoring group said.
      

Known for kidnapping, public stonings, lashings and executions, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who had recently renamed itself as the Islamic State (IS), is now expanding into tourism, taking jihadists on honeymoon and civilians to visit other parts of its "caliphate".
      

Jihadists have killed 270 Syrian regime fighters, civilian security guards and staff since seizing a gas field in Homs province, most of whom were executed, a monitoring group said July 19.